Today I updated my reading lists (on the right side of the blog), and I want to share a book I am now reading: The Quickening, by Michelle Hoover.
Ever since I began working on the book that only I can write, I have been on the lookout for other works that are based on or inspired by family journals or diaries, especially diaries by farm women. When I first learned about The Quickening and the fact that it was born of the journal of the author’s great-grandmother, I could barely wait to read the book. I have not been disappointed. Ms. Hoover writes with lyricism and grace of the lives of two farm women, Enidina Current and Mary Morrow, in ways that cut to the heart of passions particular to the Midwest. In the blog post “An Old Resilience: Writing and Familial Duty in Early 20th Century America,” she describes her great-grandmother’s temperament:
“For the most part, the pages show her determination, persistence, and toughness. Yet after I finished the last sentence, I realized I’d never before heard a family member cry out with such loneliness. I myself have tried to explain and defend what I consider a very Midwestern temperament ever since my move out east. I carry this temperament with me, both admire and try to break from it. In the novel as in its inspiration, extreme emotion is simply not allowed. Upbringing and values, family and town, even the surrounding landscape all support this resistance.”
I am nearly struck still and silent by this description, remembering one of Aunt Hattie’s entries from July 4, 1950, when she was 68 years old:
“…we had to stay home this late p.m. in such a beautiful part of the day, and I had such a lonesome feeling, felt as if we were entirely out of the world.”
My challenge is to capture that stark feeling in a way that is real and unsentimental. Strangely, as I read The Quickening, I feel none of the anxiety of influence I might expect, but am instead buoyed by Enidina and Mary and Michelle Hoover, knowing that these are the stories that must be written.
To learn more about The Quickening, visit Michelle Hoover’s website and watch this video where she discusses the novel and the journal that inspired it:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ure0egyjU8]
Oh, I almost forgot! Day 8. 🙂
What a lovely write-up! Good luck with your book. I’m so happy that my own in any way helped to support your vision. I do hope you let me know how you’re progressing.
Best,
Michelle
Michelle, thank you so much for stopping by and for your comment! I just finished The Quickening this morning (I could hardly wait to finish my own writing time to do so!), and I will write a fuller review later this week. I want to say for now, though, that I loved it, and was impressed with how the momentum continues to the very end, each page rounding out the story more and more. Best of luck with the book’s continued promotion and with your other projects.
Warmly,
Lisa